We Know Better
by alive-in-us
Summary: There was war. No one knew why it started, and no one knew when it would end. This war had been ongoing for centuries, and nothing could end to it. For most people, this was a time to fight. But for someone in particular, this was a time to end this war once and for all. Merida raced Angus through the forest. Doing this was risky, but if she didn't, her world would be destroyed...
1. Dark Dreams And A Nightmare

_Toothless and Hiccup flew through the air, gracefully flipping and swirling around. Nothing could compare to this, nothing. It was only them. The wind was whipping at his face. "YEAH!" He yelled. It was just him and Toothless. _

_Well he was wrong. _

_There was a blaring flash before he had realised what had happened. A Light Rage swooped down on Hiccup. "Hey! Not fair!" He shouted to the Light Rage. The Light Rage swivelled around before answering. "It was entirely __**her **__idea. But I approve!" Shouted a familiar voice, yet he couldn't put a name to it. It had a heavy Scottish accent. He was awoken from his thoughts when the Light Rage swooped again and missed Hiccup's head by inches. The rider laughed. _

_It was then he saw her. It wasn't clear but it was enough. She had bright read curls that were tied up in a loose plait. They bounced around on her head like crazy; it was something that reminded him of the fire that Stormfly would create. Her eyes were vague, but he could see that they were sparkling, like they were the sky sort of blue. He was memorized before he answered "You know that __**her **__has a name?" He asked. Hiccup could just imagine the reaction on the girl's face. "Oh, whatever. It was __**Cosmic's **__idea, happy?" "Indeed I am" The girl rolled her eyes, he could just see it. 'It's my turn now" Hiccup thought happily. _

_He quickly thought of his chances at firing flames. They were good enough "Toothless, fire in front of Cosmic" Toothless smiled his toothless grin as he fired away quite happily. The shots flew past Cosmic's nose. She stopped out of sudden shock. Bad idea. The action caused the second fire-ball to almost hit the red-head "HEY!" The girl yelled. "Well you did that to me!" He shouted back. "I did not!" "Did too" "Not" "Did" "You asked for it!" He received a blast of Cosmic's white fire. Hiccup dodged it and laughed. "Is that all you've got?" He shouted "Nope!" she replied laughing. Cosmic swooped down on Toothless, accidently knocking Toothless out of the air. Hiccup and the red-head both fell off their dragons, racing the wind as they fell to the ground. The red-head yelled something to Hiccup but he didn't hear it. They all fell down at break-neck speed into the snow. _

_Both of the dragons crashed i__nto trees and knocking each other as they both went spinning down the hill. Hiccup and the red-head slid down the hill as well, both bumping into each other on the way down. They were soon both at the bottom; cold, wet and panting. He turned to the red-head, who was lying next to him upside-down. "Remind me to never do that again" she whispered. Hiccup smiled. "Don't ever do that again" The red-head glared at him. Hiccup smirked. He received a punch in the arm. "Hey! I reminded you, didn't I?" He said rubbing his arm and sitting up "You did, but I didn't need that reminder right now" Hiccup just looked at her._

_She looked at Hiccup. She smiled. It was a smile that was as warm as the clouds at sunset. "Thank you Hiccup, for everything" She whispered. She sat up and gave him a bear hug. He returned the hug, tickling her. She screamed and jumped back. Hiccup threw his head back and laughed. He wasn't watching when the red-head dived on him and pinned his arms above his head. "HAHA!" She cried. Hiccup broke his arms free but the red-head was already lying her head on his torso. I f he got up, he would hurt her. Hiccup just laughed. "What?" She said, sitting up, clearly confused. Her sapphire eyes shimmered with curiosity. "Well I am a talking fishbone aren't I?". _

_She smiled warmly, Hiccup smiled back. They stayed like that for a long time, forgetting the dragons at the bottom of the hill. The red-head looked like she was going to say something, and instead, she screamed. In the distance was a black sandstorm made of what looked like horses. The swarm grew ever closer as the red-head and Hiccup only stared. "RUN!" She yelled. She grabbed Hiccup's arm and pulled him along towards the dragons. The red-head nodded to Cosmic, and Cosmic took off in the opposite direction. It was a run for Toothless. Hiccup got to Toothless first and reached out for the girl's hand But the sand was too quick. _

_Their fingers brushed and the red-head was pulled away, black sand covered her from his sight. There was nothing he could do as a never-ending sea of black sand covered him and the girl. "HICCUP!" She screamed. He fought his towards her with flailing arms. "I'm coming!" He shouted. He could hear her fighting herself towards him. But it was useless. There was no way towards her. They were separated. His limbs just thrashed around uselessly, not making any ground, only tiring him. He tried. He really did. Then everything went black. He heard a murderous scream. "NO!" He screamed as he was forced beneath the waves of black sand._

* * *

Hiccup bolted upright in his bed, screaming. What had just happened? Why was he screaming? Toothless jumped around him, snuffling him. "I'm alright Toothless, I-I just had a b-bad dream" He lied.

Did he lie? If he was, why was he screaming for himself? Or was he screaming for someone? What had actually happened? Was he just imagining things? Maybe it was just nothing… Hiccup stood up. Sleepily, he reached for his flame sword while wondering. He touched the frame, and then it all came flooding back.

The flight, the crash, the black sand, everything. He gasped and took a step back on his prosthetic leg, falling. Toothless quickly caught him. Hiccup regained his balance while Toothless snuffled him more. He needed to take Hiccup to the big guy. Toothless pushed Hiccup towards the door. "T-T-T-Toothless, I'm fine, I'm fine" The dragon was not convinced. He pushed Hiccup towards the door again. "Alright, alright, I'm going" Toothless smiled. Hiccup looked at him with a disapproving face. "Dragons can be so stubborn sometimes" Hiccup muttered to himself turning to the door, hesitating to touch the handle. He fell over from a push of Toothless. Toothless grumbled. "But they have feelings" Toothless grinned his toothless grin. "Sometimes" He muttered as he walked out through the door.

* * *

Stoick was in the Great Hall. What he was doing, Hiccup didn't know. Yet. He had planned a nice, quiet approach; Toothless didn't. He came bounding in like an overgrown puppy just waiting for a meal; he instead found that his tail kept running away from him. "Night Furies.." Stoick muttered. "Toothless!" Hiccup called in a loud whisper.

Bad call. Stoick's head came up. "Hiccup" His voice was dark and grave. Hiccup shivered. His voice was never dark, or grave. This meant something was up, and it must be bad. Hiccup stumbled over to his dad. Stoick looked at his son hard. "Y-Y-Yes Dad?" He asked nervously. Hiccup felt like a mouse cornered by a cat, facing the grave.

"I have something to tell you" "I-I have something to tell you too" Hiccup was fumbling with his words badly. "You go first" Stoick said. Something was up big time. He would've gone first otherwise. "No-No, it is okay, yours is probably more important, mine isn't that much…" Hiccup stuttered. Stoick sighed heavily. "Are you sure you want to hear it?" This made Hiccup feel even more anxious. "Is it about-" "Yes" This made Hiccup feel scared now. It had to do with her…. he knew it. Stoick clapped his hands together and looked at the ground. "I am sorry Hiccup, I should have told you before but I didn't know how to tell you, Astrid-" "NO" He yelled. Stoick looked sadly at his son. Hiccup turned away, his eyes burning. The world stopped in its tracks. It couldn't be true. It isn't. It wasn't. But it was. Words he had been dreading for so long. _ Astrid is gone_


	2. A Girl In The Woods

**Thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favourites I've gotten so far!**

* * *

There was war.

No one knew why it started.

No one knew when it had started at all, and no one knew when it would end.

This was a war that had been ongoing for centuries, and not one thing could put an end to it. But for a moment, the Vikings had just left them alone. Everyone had thought that something had gone wrong with the Vikings. So the Highlanders had thought that the century war had finally ended. How wrong were they.

The four clans had come together without worries for once. Mactonish, MacDuffin, Dingwall and DunBrooch. They came together to bring peace, to destroy their weapons of war, as they no longer needed these tools of death.

That was before they were attacked.

The Vikings now had an incredible ally that could tip the scales of war. Dragons. For most people, this was a time to defend their homeland, or to attack the invaders through the dead of the night. But for someone in particular, this was a time to end this war once and for all. No more breaks, no more horror, only peace. That is what was needed for everyone.

Merida raced through the forest. She had to be silent, yet fast as the wind. Doing this was risky, but if she didn't do this, both worlds would be destroyed, and that was something she was sure no one wanted. Angus raced through the darkest corners of the forest. Only crickets chirped as Angus jumped over a fallen log, landing on the leaves that made his jump silent. Racing through this area provided the silence Merida needed. She was racing through the place she knew best. The only thing Merida could really see was a shimmering moon on a lake. As Merida neared the lake, she slowed Angus down. She and Angus needed rest before they continued on their journey.

Though their destination was an island, Merida still believed they could somehow get there. It was a feeling she couldn't deny. "Whoa Angus" she said in a smooth voice. "We will stay here tonight" she said calmly. Angus pawed the ground, waiting for something. "Shhh Angus, we don't know if it is safe" Angus stopped, and instead snorted. "Horses can be so dumb she muttered" Merida dismounted before she quietly walked around, looking for any signs of unusual activity.

She placed her foot on the damp leaves, making sure she was silent. Nothing looked out of place, nothing gave her the odd feeling that it was unsafe. She looked up into the sky. Nothing. It was the same colour it had always been, and it was safe, for now. "Gosh I'm starvin!" It was safer to talk properly now than later. She walked up to Angus and patted the blaze on his face, before walking around to the saddle pack of oats. "How about you?" She was answered by a smack of Angus' tail in her face. "Oats it is than!" She opened the saddle bag and grabbed a handful of though there was still heaps of food for Angus, she still had a long way to go, they had to save it. "Here ya go boy" she said smoothly.

Angus snuffled it, and finished at lightning speed. He nosed Merida for more. "No, boy, you can have som grass" Angus snorted with displeasure. But he still put his nose down and started grazing on the grass. Merida smiled; it was now time for her dinner. She grabbed an arrow and loaded her bow. "Let's see, what can we get tonight?" She whispered to herself.

She silently walked around the edge of the lake looking for either fish or deer. She heard a small splash in the water to her left. She turned quickly and fired "Gotcha" she said. One fish; that was all she needed. If she learned to eat less now, she could survive later when she was really starving. Merida headed over to where Angus was grazing and lay down her prize. She walked over to the edge of the lake and grabbed two rocks. She shivered.

She needed a fire, and soon. "Angus, why can't you just help?" Angus answered with a snort. "Thanks for the answer" She shouted. She stomped around the lake. She found a small pile of twigs and logs, she moved them over to where Angus was. She grabbed the rocks only to find they were gone. "ANGUS!" She shouted. A whistle whipped through the air.

Angus jerked his head and looked up. His ears shot back. He backed into the bushes like his life depended on it. "Angus, wha-" A _hiss _raced towards her. She quickly looked up and jumped away. Her question was given an answer by a blast of fire incinerating the ground where she was just standing.

* * *

**So...**


	3. The Beginning Of A Friendship

Merida clumsily got up and raced into the bushes. "ANGUS!" She yelled. No response. Merida put her face in her hands. She was dead.

"I am such an idiot" She screamed, trying to scratch her face. Pulling her untamed hair, she loaded her bow. She looked up to the sky, there was a faint shadow. She moved behind a tree trunk and looked for the shadow circling her area. She grabbed an arrow and nocked the arrow into her bow. She aimed for the shadow, and fired.

A howl of rage filled the air. "STORMFLY" A feminie voice cried. The shadow crashed to the ground a fair distance away from her. A girl with an axe in her hand jumped off the _dragon_ and quickly ran over to where the dragon's wing was. "Stormfly! Are you ok girl?" The stranger asked the dragon. The dragon growled. "You'll be ok girl, you'll be just fine" The stranger turned to Merida, faint blue eyes burning with rage.

"You did this!" The stranger yelled. "I didn't know you were riding a dragon!" Merida shot back. She could feel the stranger glaring at her "You!" The stranger pointed at her. "You are-are…" Merida raised an eyebrow. "I'm a what? And who are ya?" The stranger stepped out of the shadows. It was a girl about her age, blond hair in a fancy braid that rested on her shoulder. 'She is wearing viking clothes?' Merida thought. "Are you a viking lass?"

The girl gave a surprised smile and laughed. "Yes!" She exclaimed. "I'm Astrid, a dragon rider" Merida looked down. "Sorry about ya dragon. You fired at me and I….I thought that your dragon was one of those wild dragons" Astrid nodded in understandment. "I'm sorry I fired at you, I thought you were someone else…" Astrid's voice trailed off. She shook her head slightly and continued. "It is common that wild dragons and tame dragons are mistaken. I do it all the time" Astrid gave Merida a warm smile. Merida smiled back. "Oh! I'm sorry! My name is Merida" Astrid looked at her and frowned. "Isn't that the same name as the princess?" Merida looked to her left. "Well..."

Astrid smirked. "Good morning, your majesty" She said in a goofy voice while pretending to curtsy. Merida looked at her and smiled. "Good morning yourself fair peasant!" They both looked at each other and laughed. 'Something tells me she is a good one' Astrid thought. Merida looked at Astrid again. She looked like she was a killer, but she certainly didn't act like one. "What is it?" Merida snapped out of her thoughts. "Well, it's just that if I came across another viking, they'd surely kill me, but you haven't even tried it…Why is that?" Astrid's smile faded and she sighed.

"I will tell you what I know, but on two conditions" Merida cautiously looked at Astrid. "Ok..?" Astrid seemed satisfied enough. "You must promise you will help me heal Stormfly, and…" Merida closed her eyes gently. "Yes?" She asked calmly. "You will help end this war" Merida's eyes flew open. That's what she was doing! That's the whole reason she left her family! There was another person out there willing to help! "Of course!" She practically yelled. Astrid looked at her with a 'what-the-heck' face.

Merida saw her confused face. "The whole reason I left here was to stop this war" Astrid breathed a sigh of relief and gave Merida a huge smile. "At least I'm not the only one!" She cried to the sky. Merida and Astrid were both breathing freely, happy that they weren't the only ones who weren't set on revenge. "We should probably check ya dragon" Astrid smiled and turned to where Stormfly was.

"Yeah, we should. You got any food?" Merida walked over to where her fish was and picked it up. "I've got this, but I can catch some more easily" Astrid grinned. "Awesome!" Merida pulled the arrow out of the fish and handed it to Astrid. She walked over to the bushes. Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" Astrid queried. "I'm getting Angus" Merida replied and walked into the bushes. Astrid turned and looked at Stormfly. She shrugged and walked over to her dragon. "Here you go Stormfly" She threw the raw fish to Stormfly. "I'm sorry we had to leave girl" She said rubbing Stormfly's head.

"But leaving was for the best, even though Hiccup thinks I'm dead, he'll get over me" Astrid breathed in shakily. "I just hope he decides to try and stop the war instead of start it…" "Got him!" She heard Merida behind her. "I think we can trust her girl, she doesn't give me the feeling she is like the others" She turned to Merida. She was leading a big black horse, it reminded her of a puppy in a way. "That's Angus?" She yelled. "Yep!" Merida replied. Astrid motioned for Stormfly to follow her over to Merida. Stormfly got up and walked over to where Merida was. Angus started to back up, he snorted fearfully, not knowing what this creature would do to him. "It's ok Angus, this is….is…." Merida looked at Astrid for help

"Stormfly. This is Stormfly, and she won't hurt you Angus" Astrid finished for Merida. Angus cautiously stretched his nose out to Stormfly. Stormfly sniffed Angus, he snorted and Stormfly made a humming noise. "Stormfly likes Angus" Astrid observed. "How do you know that? Do you like speak their language or something?" Merida asked quizzingly. She frowned and looked all over Stormfly. Astrid let out a small laugh. "I'm a dragon rider remember? I live and breathe this stuff" Merida smiled at Stormfly.

"How do you survive that?" Astrid asked. "What?" Merida asked, confused. "That wildfire of hair! Have you even tried brushing it?" She asked laughing. Merida grabbed a lock of her hair and looked at it herself. "I have no idea! I never brush it, but when I do try, I swear I lose the brushes I use!" Merida and Astrid laughed at each other. So different, yet so alike. 'It seems like I've made a new friend' Merida mused. 'But a viking? It's like a forbidden friendship!'

**AN/ Oks, so I've updated! Just so you know, I thought that Astrid and Merida would click when the met. Also, even though Vikings and Scots are at war, both the girls have the same intention, so thats why they didn't just go cat-mode at each other. :D If you don't know what cat-mode means, message me!**


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